Eminem is in an album-length tussle with Gen Z, cancel civilization, chiefly, his alter ego Slim Shady on his album. “The end of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce),” which was brought out to streaming services Friday.
The 19-song, 64-minute set finds Eminem/ Slim Shady opining on topics such transgender rights, pronoun usage. PC police and supposed taboo words, which he repeats with gleeful abandon, just like the devil-horned Slim Shady of old.
The world has of course converted the last quarter century since Eminem stormed onto the scene. “My Name Is,” but Em seems to long for a return to those carefree fine days when he was pop culture’s merry scoundrel prankster, the Joker with a microphone.
Even his old nemesis Christopher Reeve — who died out 20 years ago — gets multiple observes across the album.
But that’s all Slim Shady talking, if you follow the album concept, which Eminem pointed out on in the leadup to Friday release.
“Community service announcement: the ‘End of slim shady’ is a conceptual album. Therefore, if you listen to songs out of order they might not add up,” Eminem wrote on X Thursday. “Enjoy.”
The Eminem/ Slim Shady feud comes to a head on “Guilty Conscience 2,” a sequel to 1999’s “Guilty Conscience,” which featured Eminem and Dr. Dre as the angel and devil on the shoulders of a serial of characters.
“Guilty Conscience 2” is a showdown between Eminem and Slim, the two sides of Em’s brain, which ends with Em killing off his monster.
